SAUDADE MOON | PAOLO MARCHETTI

"Saudade Moon" is not a record of the physical landscape but of an emotional one, it's my attempt to change look on the nation's leading over the coming years, I watched my "invisible" Brazil, I told the "unsaid", over the pacification of the favelas, over the feverish preparation for the upcoming sporting events, which in part, have triggered this economic reaction.

I traveled for five years from the hypnotic Amazon, to the farms in the early 1800's in the state of Minas Jerais, visiting the islands off the north coast to the desert in the state of Maranhao.
I photographed the lifestyle of the beaches, but also, Christmas in the slums of the big cities on the coast and inland. I tried to return the historical aspect expressed by the art and architecture of Brasilia, and I told the ritual ceremonies of Condomblè, then I traveled to the colonial villages and I photographed the poorest countries, those forgotten by this hysterical ongoing economic process.

Saudade moon is the first major station on a long journey, the search on my emotional geography, a tool to be able to cry with laughter, of each land living. In the stomach of my trip, I met in Brazil the seed of “saudade”, the conscious transition strongly related to their belonging, sentimental, epochal ideological and finally empathic.

The Brazilian land is still very far away from me, like the moon, with its colors shouted in my face, or whispered from far away.

 "Saudade Moon" it’s my lunar vision of Brazil, the pretext for recognizing me in the eyes of an everyman, and vindicate myself as a son of the world and remain fertile towards life. paolomarchetti

All images © Paolo Marchetti

Dall’Amazzonia al deserto del Maranhao, dallo stato del Minas Gerais alle spiagge di Rio, dalle favelas delle grandi città alle coste più produttive, dall'entroterra alle isole. 
È il lungo viaggio attraverso il Brasile del fotografo e reporter romano Paolo Marchetti.

Ha viaggiato per raccontare le sfaccettature di un paese dalle mille contraddizioni, che vive in mezzo tra progresso e povertà, e l’ha fatto nei cinque anni precedenti ai mondiali di calcio che hanno cambiato il volto del paese sudamericano.

«Il Brasile rappresenta la mia luna, distante, incompresa ma definitivamente importante nel mio immaginario» racconta Marchetti, che per questo ha chiamato il suo lavoro Saudade moon: «non è un diario di viaggio, ma il passaggio emozionale nel mio “invisibile” Brasile e il tentativo di cambiare sguardo su una nazione leader nei prossimi anni».

E Marchetti non ha cercato le sonorità esotiche che troppo spesso colpisco i fotografi frettolosi ma è andato in profondità, rallentando di fronte allo scorrere della vita. Le immagini in un morbido bianco e nero non danno giudizi ma restituiscono verità al quotidiano di un paese travolto dal progresso economico. Saudade moon, che lo scorso anno gli ha permesso di vincere il prestigioso concorso fotografico Leica Photographers Award, è stato esposto al Palazzo Ducale di Lucca fino al 14 dicembre in occasione di Photolux.

«È un progetto che ha innescato altre mie vocalità fotografiche» e decisamente diverso dagli altri lavori, dai suoi progetti più giornalistici come Fever, una mappatura visiva dei fascismi in Europa, Scarlet War sul conflitto in Mali, o ancora The noble fire of ancient slaves sull’emergenza di Haiti post-terremoto.

Comunque l’approccio del fotografo dell’agenzia Getty Images nel relazionarsi al soggetto fotografato non è mai cambiato. Perché Marchetti ritiene che nel fornire il proprio punto di vista ci sia sempre una grande responsabilità individuale, poichè raccontare la vita degli altri è dare un messaggio al mondo, farsi delle domande e lasciare che gli altri trovino le risposte. Una visione imparziale in cui si lasciano liberi gli spettatori di riflettere e di sognare.

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FREESLAVERY | PAOLO MARCHETTI

Over the last 15 years is rapidly manifesting a new scenario of contemporary slavery, have spontaneously appeared new forms of slavery, which is no longer the traffic of people to determine the status of a slave, but the total lack of alternatives for sustaining the individual, to make that millions of people choose to live on the margins of existence civil, employing themselves in trades incredibly dangerous or harmful to their mental and physical health. Children represent large amounts of this infernal process.
From the end of the last millennium, however, we are witnessing an unexpected and substantial return of slavery, although the definition of slavery involves numerous considerations, there are in fact the most varied forms of transition between ratios of simple relations of exploitation and a real enslavement but now in fact, millions of Africans live in human situations that can in effect be considered slavery.
In the world there are about 215 million children engaged in child labor, of these, more than 150 million are trapped in jobs that put at risk their physical and mental health, and condemn them to a life without education.
According to the ILO, 50%, or 74 million, is the number of children employed in various forms of unsafe work, such as working in mines, or in contact with chemicals or dangerous tools and machinery.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the planet with the highest rate of child labor: more than a third of children aged 5 to 14 years is exploited in the most dangerous forms of work, physically, morally or mentally.
Mali is one of the poorest countries on the planet. The world's human development index, compiled by the United Nations, it is located on the 175th place out of 187 countries.
The industry is practically non-existent and the trade is mainly carried out in the informal sector, the spontaneous and occasional manifested in the streets, and wherever there is an opportunity to gain.
The government in Bamako recently approved a "National Plan for the elimination of child labor" under the policy of child protection. The objective of the Plan (Panetem) is to eradicate by 2020 forced child labor, considered a true form of slavery, but currently, there is no trace of such an initiative.
In the district of Medine in Mali's capital, Bamako, is located the oldest foundry of the city called Fantogò, which inherits its name from the mountain that hosts it. Its surface area is one hectare, half of which climbs up the adjacent mountain. From all over the country come here, recycled iron, which is then melted and forged for the production of professional hand tools, housewares, and other facilities. Iron processing is performed, starting from the day of birth of the foundry in 1996, with totally manual techniques.
Here employs more than 2000 people and, although there is no official census, the spontaneous and non-governmental committee that manages the foundry, estimates that about 900 workers, are children aged 9 to 17 years, the rest is made up of boys from 18 to 29 .
At least half of the workers in 2000, lives here and then at the end of their hellish work day, it remains within the slum, because it has its own abode.
Permission to sleep in the shacks, is the only form of remuneration for the street children who work in the foundry Fantogò, in addition to this, when possible, they are offered a daily meal that often consists of bread, biscuits or little else.

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 Paolo Marchetti is a photojournalist based in Italy, Rome.  

He has worked for thirteen years in the cinematographic and commercial industry, covering each role in the Camera Dpt.

In his photography he pays particular attention to political and anthropological issues. He has covered stories in Brazil, Central America, Cuba, Eastern Europe, India, the United States, Haiti, China, Central Africa, Colombia and Thailand.

His work has been published in Italian magazines such as L'Espresso, Internazionale, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire and many others, also in international magazines and newspapers such as 6MOIS, Sunday Times, British Journal of Photojournalism, The Guardian, Geo, Days Japan, Der Spiegel, Newsweek, CNN, New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Time and many others.

Marchetti has received several awards including the The International Photography Award, Grand Prix de Paris and he was short listed for the Luis Valtuena International Humanitarian Photography Award. He has also been awarded five times with the NPPA - Best of Photojournalism, five times with the PDN’s Award, the Sony WPO Award, the Getty Images Editorial Photography 2012, in 2013 he was finalist at the Leica Oskar Barnack Award and between the 2013 and 2014 he has been recognized with four awards at the POY - Picture of the Year, two of which in the prestigious category "Photographer of the Year". Other awards are the American Photography Annual Book, the ANI Pix-Palace 2013 in Perpignan, the Leica Photographer Award 2013, the SDN - Social Documentary Network, the Days Japan, the Alexia Foundation Grant and the World Press Photo in "Nature" category and many others.

His long-term project, on which he has been working for five years covering five different countries, focuses on fascism and the awakening far-right in Europe and is titled "FEVER".

Marchetti is currently represented by Reportage by Getty.

All images © Paolo Marchetti

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